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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Make Your Own CUTE Camera Bag! Camera Bag Tutorial!!!

Soooooo remember last week when I told you that I made my own CAMERA BAG?? Well here is the COMPLETE TUTORIAL!!!

Yahoooooooozies!!!

Sooooooo exciting!!!

Ooookaaaaaaay!!!Ready to gooooooo???

Let’s DO IT!!!!!

I used a bag from Wal-Mart…that was $12.88. NO JOKE!

I knew I wanted a messenger-style camera bag because for me having it across my chest and over my shoulder while taking pictures seems way easier. This is a total personal preference and your choice of a bag style should be what works best for you!!

I don’t know if you’ve seen the cost of messenger-style camera bags…but they are generally in the $100 digits. Totally not realistic for a single-Mamma budget. So when I saw this baby at Wally-World…I knew what I wanted to do with it. Finally…I would have a CAA-UUUUTE camera bag!!!

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I also purchased two sets of buttons, a roll of cute ribbon and a name-plate charm. Which all together cost less than $10. I also found them all at Wal-Mart. I thought I might use one of my vintage brooches but didn’t end up needing it.

So quick….go get your CUTE bags…and decorations!!!

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Okay…now the FUN CRAFTY PART!!

I made all of my little flower doo-dahs. Easie as PIE!!!

I gathered all the different types of fabric I had in the color scheme I wanted to use for the bag which I matched up to my business logo and cards….

Here’s my fabric!

Now let’s get started making CUTE decorations!!

Sweet Pea Rosette Flowers:

To start with I always cut a base circle out of a thick paper, for these I used index cards. Some people do not use a base, but for me it holds the rosette flower shape MUCH BETTER!

Cut a long strip of fabric and tie a knot at one end. Glue your knot to the middle of your circle!

Start twisting your fabric around the knot in a circle. Every few twists add a dab of hot-glue to hold your flower into shape.

Depending on how you HOLD your fabric…you will have various outcomes for your flower. I wanted more of the black to show so I tried to make sure the black was facing outward as I twisted and glued.

Don’t freak out if you have edges of the paper showing….see mine!

Just trim with scissors around the edges to remove any extra paper!

Seeeeee…..VIOLA!

Cutie Patootie Fluffy Flowers

Start with the same index card paper circle base.

Cut TONS of CIRCLES from your fabric choice. Your circles should be about 2” inches or larger in diameter depending on the size of your base circle size.

Fold over your circle to make a cone-like shape…and hot glue it to hold in place. Hard to really explain. It looks like this.

Then starting with the outer edges…hot glue your conies to the circle base. Build up and work your way to the center of the circle to make a big fluffy flower! It doesn’t have to be perfect at all!

Hot glue your flowers to your bag. Add any other extra decorations like your buttons! You could totally hand-stitch these on as well! I wasn’t pulling out the needle and thread…LOL!

I also used this little name plate thing that I found in the craft clearance section…..

to make a custom name-plate with my company name….

I just printed it in teeny-tiny font and cut it out to fit the little plate. LOVE IT!!!!!

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And now for the INNARDS parts of the BAG….

I used this for cardboard….the hard protecting part of the bag insides…

It is THICK and PERFECT for this project! Plus…you are RECYCLING! Yay!!!

This box had inside dividers for a watch and DVD that came with Jaxon’s Pull-Ups…lucky me! They were the perfect size for my BAG so I didn’t have to cut much!

I looked at all the sides of the bag that I would need SIDING for. I started with the bottom. I measured (GUESS-TIMATED) the size and cut cardboard from the lid of the box for that piece. No I don’t measure things either. LOL…bad little crafter Mamma. Ha ha ha.

Once I had my piece of cardboard cut I cut the quilt batting to match the piece. Then I just glued down the batting to the cardboard. SIMPLE!

The padded side…..

The protective, hard side….

I did this for every side that I would need…I needed a BOTTOM piece… and 2 BIG sides and 2 SMALL sides for the bag body. You can lay your quilt batting on the bag to size it up too if you want!

Once I had all the sides I needed PADDED…I went back and covered each individual piece with fabric.

To make my seams look crisp and faux-sewn….I folded over each edge.

Here is what the padded side of the panel piece looks like….

Once each side was padded and covered…I started with the base, bottom piece and started gluing each side on. Make sure all your padded sides are facing the INSIDE! Hard part…facing out!

I didn’t take pictures because my hands were tied up…LOL. But it will look like a BOX with an open top. The fabric adheres awesome with the hot glue and I had no problems putting it together. I just slid it into my bag…and at this point…started getting VERY EXCITED!!!

I also made 2 padded divider pieces to separate my lenses and camera body. I cut a small piece of batting…and hot glued fabric around the piece. It holds in the bag without Velcro…but you could add strips of Velcro to secure your dividers if you wanted.

Yahooooooooo! Isn’t it GREAT! Cute camera bag…that keeps my little CAMMIE safe and sound!! If I want to just use the bag without the INNARDS I can just slide it out! LOVE!

I am totally IN LOVE with HER!!!

Girls…(and boys)….we can ALL have CUTE CAMERA bags without breaking the BANK!

♥♥SIDE NOTE

Just a few quick notes: My sewing machine is like 183 years old…so no sewing for this project. Yes that is perfectly OK with me!! I’m not going to be rough-housing or doing football tackles with my camera bag…so hot glue will be PERFECTO. If you feel like you need a more secure bonding solution…by all means…get your SEWING MACHINES out!

I used as much items as I already had on hand as I could…that is the point of being frugal for me…use what you have. You could always use fancy pants stuff…but around Easie Peasie land we like to recycle…and use what we have!! Whew…addressing that now before I get a ton of emails about how I should have SEWN this project or used different materials! LOL!!!

Love, love, love this!! I own an accessories company and make bags for a living but never would have thought of this! As soon as I read this post I started cutting out fabric to make a bag for my camera!! Thanks for the inspiration!! I wish I could cover my strap too but unfortunately the hubby likes to use the camera too. While I am out getting ribbon tomorrow I might have to try and find a cheap strap I can cover!!

Yesterday I was hunting online for a camera bag that I wouldn't mind hauling around with me as I just recieved a new Nikon for my b-day. I stummbled upon your tutorial and feel I love! After work i went stright to walmart, bought a cute purse for $14 and some fabric to match and within an house of sitting down with my glue gun I had the perfect camera bag! It was so easy and I have the satisfaction of knowing no one else has one! Thanks for the wonderful tutorial!

Thank you so much for this post! I'm getting my mom a DSLR for Christmas, and I was struggling to find the perfect bag to go with it. I'm good at sewing in straight lines only, so your post inspired me to make a tote out of some quilted fabric I got at JoAnn Fabrics, and then make the innards out of some foam and some really cute lime green satin I found on sale. Wish me luck!

I was hoping I could get an opinion from you; I tried Googling this but had very little luck. Apparently I wasn't using the right search terms. I'm really new to the whole DSLR thing, and I'm trying to make the bag's measurements correct. Do you carry your camera in your bag with the lens pointing up, down, or sideways?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in some of my posts for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe my readers will enjoy. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”